Prevent Aging of the Skin

I spent 22 years in the nursing profession, and I enjoy writing about medical issues. I'm also interested in history, genealogy, and travel.

Preventing Premature Aging

Most people try to find ways to her to prevent aging of the skin and their body in general. After all if your hair turns gray you can always dye it another color. Certainly keeping your weight in a healthy range and exercise will help your body generally have a younger look.

However, people often look for anti-aging measures to slow down the process of aging. There are many types of facial creams, treatments and even plastic surgery to treat this problem, but prevention is always the best solution.

Skin Wrinkles

Source

Enhance Skin with Food

Some foods that are terrific skin enhancers: leafy green vegetables; easily digested proteins such as tofu, sunflower seeds and milk; foods high in zinc such as quinoa, pineapple and beta-carotene rich foods such as carrots or cherries.

Nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pecans help support the skin with their protein and lubricating fat content. There are also some skin friendly spices including tumeric, cumin, black pepper and fennel. Antioxidant-rich organic fruits and vegetables are also excellent for the skin.

Facial exercises also help to keep your face toned, which will give you a younger look.

Smoking

Source

Causes of Skin Aging

There are many causes of premature aging and probably the most commonly known is smoking.Smoking includes cigarettes, cigars, pipes and even secondhand smoke, as each of these is unhealthy. Smoking causes or worsens many diseases and damages every tissue and organ in the body. Smoking constricts the blood vessels so the skin is not as well-nourished, which is why aging of the skin will happen more rapidly. Stress increases cigarette consumption among smokers. The healthiest choice is to quit smoking and there are some medications and things on the market that can help you do that if you truly want to quit.

Sun exposure, particularly tanning beds, will speed up the process of aging. Use a quality suntan lotion, which blocks the harmful things UVA and UVB rays. If you a want suntan lie out in the sun for just one to two hours a day using quality suntan lotion.

There is new research that ties eating sugar with making your skin sag in wrinkles prematurely. When sugar reaches your bloodstream it gloms on to proteins and forms advanced advanced glycation, which damages the collagen of the elastin fibers that keep your skin strong and supple.

Too much salt in your diet will also cause tissues to swell, which can harm the elastin in your skin leading to premature development of wrinkles.

Fizzy soft drinks contain high acidity, high sugar content or sugar substitutes. Soft drinks have been found to cause serious cell damage by researchers at Sheffield University. They found sodium binzonate, a common preservative, which is found in most leading brands of soft drinks actually switches off vital parts of our DNA, leading to accelerated aging.

Alcohol can cause blood vessels close to the skin to burst, which will leave broken veins visible on your face. Since alcohol also causes severe dehydration, the skin prematurely wrinkles in roughly the proportional amount of alcohol you consume. However, red wine contains resveratrol, which is a potent antioxidant.

Caffeine, which is present in coffee, tea, hot chocolate and colas, can also deplete the skin of its natural moisture, damaging its ability to maintain healthy cell growth.

As all of these foods listed are so common in our diets, so eat all things in moderation, and use good skin care products to help prevent aging. Staying hydrated throughout the day will also help your skin stay better nourished.

Progeria

source mysecretsidewalk

Rare Conditions that Cause Aging of the Face

Progeria is an extremely rare genetic disease that rapidly ages a person beginning in early childhood. There is no cure for this disease and life expectancy for child with progeria is about 13 years although some children may live to 20 years. There are actually 14 other medical conditions that cause premature aging in children, which are associated with different syndromes.

Werner syndrome causes premature aging that begins in adolescence or early adulthood resulting in the appearance of old-age by 30 to 40 years.

Xeroderma pigmentosum is another rare pigmentary disease caused by an enzyme deficiency, which has 42 different types of symptoms. There are several other similar diseases that I won't list in this particular hub, but I felt it was important to let you know that such terrible diseases exist. These diseases make a common little wrinkle sound irrelevant, as there is no cure for the diseases listed above. Of course, research is ongoing.

Mild balding

my photo

Diseases that Affect Skin and Aging

Hypothyroidism is a common disorder that occurs when the thyroid gland is under-active,therefore not producing enough thyroid hormone. Hypothyroidism slows the body's chemical processes and metabolism, which leads to symptoms, such as fatigue and weight gain. Fortunately this is a treatable disease.

There are 419 causes of tough skin conditions,and many of these lead to premature aging. People with tough skin tend to get more calluses, have scaly skin or they may get more serious diseases, such as Scleroderma.

Although baldness seems to be a little bit more in vogue at this time, it is still often associated with aging. There are 517 different causes for baldness causing the loss of scalp hair. Some diseases or medicines may cause baldness as a side effect.

Lady with Gray Hair

Source

Aids to Beautify Skin

In addition to the information listed above, it is important to avoid harsh chemicals in your shampoo, soaps and skincare products, as the chemicals irritate the skin. While a strong preservative or antibacterial agent and skincare products kill bacteria they also destroy and signs that trigger absorption of lubrication. They may result in permanent dry patches, oversensitive skin or increase susceptibility to sun damage.

Every type of skin needs cleansing and gentle exfoliation. Choose the products that are appropriate for your skin type. After your shower or bath is the time for you to use lotion on your body while your skin is still damp. Gently exfoliate your face at least twice a week and use a good night cream on your face and throat each night, as this goes a long way towards preventing wrinkles.

If your hair is turning grey and you want to look younger is very easy to dye your hair with a permanent dye or a shorter acting one.

Green tea has 20 percent more antioxidants than vitamin E. Drinking two cups of green tea daily will have aid in keeping your skin healthy and help prevent premature aging. Drinking green tea will also help to prevent sun burns and prevent darker spots on your skin.

My Skin Care Routine for "flawless looking" skin (by Kandee)

Summary

It is important to take care of your skin throughout your life if you want to avoid wrinkles and have soft supple skin. Makeup must be removed every night before bed and a night cream applied to your face and neck. You may use a toner before the cream in less you have very dry skin. Being consistent is the most important component to good skin care.

Avoiding the hazards listed above and eating healthy will have a great impact on preventing premature aging.

Skin Care for Women

Do you routinely remove makeup at night and use a good skin care product?

Comments

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AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

3 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Jonas, I think most of us want to have nice skin, so I am glad you found the hub useful. Your comments are appreciated.

Jonas Rodrigo

3 years ago

Very useful hub on a topic that most will ponder over at some point in their lives. Great job, Pamela!

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

3 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Nell, Good for you! Thanks for your comments. Appreciated.

Nell Rose

3 years agofrom England

Great advice Pamela, and so true, we need to eat the right stuff, get rid of the sugars, salts and bad food and always do our facial exercise, I do that every night, so far so good with the wrinkles! lol!

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

cloverleaf, I'm glad the hub was helpful to you and I appreciate your comments.

Cloverleaf

7 years agofrom Calgary, AB, Canada

Wow, I didn't know that sugar can contribute to making skin sag, you have a lot of really usesul information here, Pamela! Voted up and interesting.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Barbara, That's one thing I'm grateful for that I never smoked but it used to sunbath many years ago. Thank you so much for your comment

Audrey Selig

7 years agofrom Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Good info on skincare. I find if a product contains oatmeal, it is also great for skin. Knowing the sources of aging skin is so helpful. I know the smokers and the sun worshippers have bad skin. The tanners, especially, do not age well.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Injured Lamb, Thanks and you have a good day also.

Injured lamb

7 years ago

Sure Pamela, I will start using it after knowing how it affects our skin. Thanks once again. Have a good day!

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Injured lamb, I hope you will start using lotion as it will help protect you from ever getting skin cancer. Thanks so much for your comments.

Injured lamb

7 years ago

Hi Pamela, voted you up. You did give us the useful ways to prevent the aging of the skin. Oops, I think I never care about using any suntan lotion whenever I go swimming...means...oh no! Thanks Pamela.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Nell Rose, I think it is clever that you have been doing facial exercises for a long time. I appreciate your comments.

Nell Rose

7 years agofrom England

Hi, as I was reading I was saying to myself, yes I eat that, no I shouldn't eat that etc! lol I do facial exercises most nights, I have been doing them for ages and the great thing is that it does improve your skin, because the muscles are joined to the skin on your face compared to the rest of your body, unfortunately I do have thyroid problems and yes it does affect the skin if its too low, cheers nell

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Om Paramapoonya, I have heard other people make similar statements. Its good you were able to quit. Thanks for your comments.

Om Paramapoonya

7 years ago

Lots of good info and valuable advice here. I hadn't smoked long enough to notice any premature wrinkles, but my skin has gotten much healthier looking since I quit smoking years ago.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

I am glad you enjoyed this hub and I appreciate your comments.

katrinasui

7 years ago

You always write interesting hub. i am glad to find this useful hub.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Susan, I'm glad you like the hub. Thanks for your comments.

Susan Zutautas

7 years agofrom Ontario, Canada

Great info about aging of the skin. Wish I had of know about many of these things years ago.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Eileen, Thank you so much for your comment.

Eileen Hughes

7 years agofrom Northam Western Australia

Informative hub with lots on helpful info as always.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

midnightbliss, That is true. Thanks for your comment.

acetanna, I'm glad this article was helpful to you. I appreciate your comments.

acaetnna

7 years agofrom Guildford

Such an informative article as always. I have gleaned so much information from this. Most of us are obsessed with trying to achieve the perfect sun tan but the use of a high factor sun lotion is so, so important.

Voting up and pressing those buttons again!

Haydee Anderson

7 years agofrom Hermosa Beach

our skin is our biggest organ of our body that's why its really important to take good care of it. thanks for sharing this great information.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

anginwu, I'm glad you enjoyed the hub and I appreciate your comments.

anglnwu

7 years ago

You've everything covered from causes of aging to medical conditions. You've given provided skincare pointers. Great hub and rated up.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

POP, Thank you for very gracious comments.

Peggy, Good genes are important. I have dry skin and have to use good skin cream or I would be a bag of wrinkles. Thanks for your comment.

Peggy Woods

7 years agofrom Houston, Texas

Good genes also help and of course, that is pure luck on our parts as to what we inherit. As to the other things you mentioned...we can affect our skin aging to some extent. Good hub! Good Amazon prices on some of these products!!! Rated useful.

breakfastpop

7 years ago

Great info. Now I know why you look so great! Up and useful.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

great love, I'm glad you enjoyed the hub and I appreciate your comments.

conrado, These treatments may improve the situation but it is a genetic disease which would lead me to think that improvement would be the best we could hope for, not an actual cure. I did not find that information when I did a search but will look specifically for the SOD you mention. Thanks for your comments.

conrado fontanilla

7 years ago

Pamela, I took a glance at progeria. It might be hard to cure but there is a cure, glutathione peroxidase that converts hydrogen peroxide to safe water, according to Dr. Elmer Cranton MD (Bypassing Bypass 2nd ed). Progeria is of course caused by free radicals, as it is a heritable lack of antioxidants like superoxide dismutase (SOD) which can also be administered although it is easily broken up in the stomach. The natural one is still better.

greatlove

7 years agofrom Beaufort, NC

Loads of good info. Thanks for sharing.....not sure I can give up pop but I will keep trying :+)

conradofontanilla, I have also written another article on free radicals and the damage they do but I thank yhou for the detailed information.

conradofontanilla

7 years agofrom Philippines

Free radicals cause skin aging, the whole body for that matter. Singlet oxygen and hydroxyl (reactive oxygen species) are mostly the culprit. Singlet oxygen originates from the atmosphere mostly as it was formerly a molecular oxygen whose one unpaired electron was energized by heat (sun) to reverse its spin thus singlet oxygen has two electrons spinning in opposite directions. This makes it all the more hazardous because the two electrons can grab another electrons at the same time. Molecular oxygen with its two unpaired electrons spinning in parallel directions can grab electrons only one at a time. Singlet oxygen can be countered with vitamin E and vitamin A which absorb heat and lost as heat. Vit. E can take the place of lotions with sun factor ratings. Hydroxyl can come from water in the skin when hit by radiation, or superoxide reacting with another superoxide, inside the body. Antioxidants like glutathione also remedies skin aging. Smoke produces a lot of free radicals and contains about 4,000 carcinogens. Free radicals not the smoke per se cause mutations resulting in tumor, cancer and emphysema.

Support Med.

7 years agofrom Michigan

Well, what can I say, I love my coffee and with lots of sugar - but so far so good, lol! Thanks for sharing this information. v/r

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

drbj, Older than dirt sounds like a slight exaggeration and of course I love you the way you are as you certainly Your good humor intact. Thank you so much for your comments.

Always exploring, it sounds like you're doing the same thing most of us are doing using creams and lotions and so forth. I appreciate your comments.

Ruby Jean Richert

7 years agofrom Southern Illinois

Geez, I guess i'm turning into an old prune along with drbj, but i'm fighting it with lotions, creams, cool packs, you name it, i try it. HAHA Thank you for GREAT tips.

drbj and sherry

7 years agofrom south Florida

Did I read something about Audrey saying "turning into an old prune?" Well I resemble that remark since I'm older than dirt, but you are spot on with this useful information, Pamela. Thanks for your diligent research and reporting.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Cardisa, I agree with your comments and appreciate them.

Audrey, None of us want to be that old prune. Thanks for your comments.

Audrey Kirchner

7 years agofrom Washington

Voted up and useful, Pamela - you can't know too much about how to keep from turning into an old prune~

Carolee Samuda

7 years agofrom Jamaica

Hi Pamela, very good info. As women we are so conscious of aging...even some men are. Our skin plays an important role in how confident we are. We tend to feel self conscious when our skin is too wrinkled or blotchy.

Thanks for the information. Keep up the good work.

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Lisabeaman, I managed to wean off soda except for a rare cola but I did it to lose weight. Thanks again for the comments.

lisabeaman

7 years agofrom Phoenix, AZ

I really didn't know that either. I get how smoking, alcohol, and sun exposure can cause damage though. I'll have to watch that sugar/caffeine intake (I type as I sip my McDonald's coke) oops!

AUTHOR

Pamela Oglesby

7 years agofrom Sunny Florida

Will Starr, You are absolutely right. It is difficult when you work out in the sun also but sun screen is the best protection. I appreciate your comments.

Lisabeaman, I only learned of the sugar and salt problem recently but when I did some research it seemed to be all over the Internet. Thank you for your comments.

lisabeaman

7 years agofrom Phoenix, AZ

You killed me on the sugar, salt, fizzy soft drinks and caffeine! I'm in big, big trouble!!! Great hub - lots of useful information - the comment about drinking lots of water is a good one as well - and another one against me. Voted up and useful and interesting!

WillStarr

7 years agofrom Phoenix, Arizona

The skin on my arms is heavily sun damaged and fragile. The slightest bump causes bruising and it tears very easily.

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